1937 - 2007 Burrards [Down Memory Lane]

Every sport -- baseball, football, hockey, soccer, etc. -- embraces the continuity of a handful of teams to sustain the tradition of the game.

The Burrard Lacrosse Club proudly celebrates this time-honoured custom in the 2007 season -- the organization's 70th consecutive senior lacrosse campaign in Western Canada.

It may be true that there were times when the Burrards were called the Burrard Westerns or Combines or Pils or Carlings and that home was where you found it -- the Forum, Agrodome, Coliseum, Kerrisdale, Surrey or Maple Ridge; despite these changes dictated by a new venue or the economics of the day, everyone knew that, behind the survival tactics of commercialism, the team was still the Burrards.

Bill Calder, Les Dickinson, Ed Bayley and some of their old cronies from the Burrard Liberal Association conceived the need for a new club in the Inter-City Lacrosse League (ICLL) in the Fall of 1936, thus giving birth to the Baby Blue nine months later. The original sponsor was Ed Irvine whose only advertisement was a Maltese cross on the uniforms, the symbol of a popular soft drink of the day.

With franchise in hand, the founders set out to recruit players. Les Dickinson, who was named coach, naturally went after his young son Bill. The Province Bluebirds, a club guided by Ed Bayley from juvenile to senior in the early 1930's, had folded in 1936, therefore providing the Burrards with more young talent. Added to the mix were a few veterans to settle youthful enthusiasm. The Burrards were now ready for the boxla wars.

In the next year or two, the Burrards recruited cornerstones for the foundation -- John Cavallin, John Dale, Pat Theal and Don Matheson. It was a fun ride to the top -- from league basement in 1937 to the Mann Cup finals in 1940. Unfortunately, St. Catharines proved to be the wicked stepmother and the Cinderella Burrards were forced to wait until 1945 to gain the national title.

Les Dickinson surrendered the coaching chores after the 1940 season to Ed Irvine who was later followed by Ed Bayle and Chuck Jones before John Dale guided the unit to the 1945 Mann Cup with a mixture of returning Second World War servicemen and youngsters like Bo Bradford, Bill Harris, Ernie Smith, Frank Lee, Earl McDonald, Harry Buchanan and Roddy McLeod.

The Burrards took part in some of the most memorable lacrosse battles with Adanacs and Salmonbellies between 1946 and 1948 before the boys in blue, now under rookie coach John Cavallin, captured a second national championship.

By now, the club was known officially as the Burrard Westerns. Faced with a number of retirements and the collapse of the Richmond Farmers' franchise, the 1951 Vancouver club was renamed the Combines -- not very original, but somebody must have liked it. In any case, it didn't last long; soon it was back to the Burrard moniker for a spell before a brewery marraige resulted in name changes to Pils and Carlings.

The teams of the 1960's were something to behold. Built by coach Jack McKinnon and polished by Bob Marsh and Alex MacKay, Vancouver captured the Mann Cup in 1961, 1963, 1964 and 1967. It was a fantastic decade but, through it all, there remained the desire to get back to the Burrard name.

In 1970, Colin Cruickshank, Bill Dickinson and Peter Black, as president, vice-president and coach respectively, again adopted Burrards as the official team name. Pride made Burrards a boxla power with which to contend, but it took until 1975, under coach Ross McDonald, to win the Mann Cup once again. The feat was repeated in 1977.

Fourteen times the Burrards have fought for the Mann Cup -- eight times they have succeeded.

And we mustn't forget the only shutout in the history of the Mann Cup -- Don Hamilton's blanking of Brampton 13-0 on September 23, 1961.

Lacrosse, like any other sport, has suffered through highs and lows of popularity but, through the dark times as well as the good, the stars have always glittered.

There will always be debate over who was the best player to wear the Burrard uniform and the argument certainly won't be settled here. But the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame has recognized 53 players who have worn the blue colours -- 36 of whom spent virtually all of their productive years with Burrards, 13 who had brief flings before moving on to other clubs and four who actually belonged to opposing teams but were picked up by Vancouver for Mann Cup play.

As a leader in the game of lacrosse, it should come as no surprise that the seed of creation, although fertilized and nurtured in New Westminster where the Hall of Fame is located, was actually implanted by the Burrards.

Look back, if you would, to 1960 -- three full years before the Royal City enthusiasts applied to the Canadian Lacrosse Association for the Hall of Fame charter. An article appeared in the July 5, 1960, Vancouver program under the heading of "Anyone for a Lacrosse Hall of Fame?" which stated, in part: It is high time that these former stars are toasted for their contributions to Canada's national game. Once a player retires from lacrosse, his name becomes only a slight memory or it's forgotten altogether……to forget them would be a crime.

Forty-eight names representing box and field lacrosse and builders of the game were honoured in 1966 as charter members. They, along with first-year inductees, found a place of honour at the official opening of the Hall on May 17, 1967. Each year since, new names have been added -- the stars of yester-year and their exploits would not fade into oblivion.

In 1998, a "Team" category was added for the Hall to honour. The 1961 - 1967 Vancouver organization was inducted the following year. In 2004, the 1964 team was also inducted into the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame.